What kind of Safe?

[Dargo]

The very first step in making a safe, well, safe, is to bolt it to the floor.

My Fort Knox Legend safe was moved into my office as it was being built. Empty it weighs right at 2000 pounds. With all the ammo I have stored in the bottom of the safe and the rest of the contents, I'd say it weighs closer to 3000 pounds. If two guys can get past the security system, break the door down to the building, rip the wall apart to get the safe to fit through the door and then carry off a 3000 pound safe, they can have it. I considered it, but saw little to no value in bolting this safe to the floor.

 

[KTurner]

I understand the reasoning for bolting the safe to the floor. but...

It seems like doing that would negate/decrease the fire rating. The bolts would allow the heat to bypass the heat resistant construction of the safe and possibly ignite the contents of the safe, especially if combustible materials are in direct contact with the bolt/nut/washer/etc.

Keith

 

[firedog]

I understand the reasoning for bolting the safe to the floor. but...

It seems like doing that would negate/decrease the fire rating. The bolts would allow the heat to bypass the heat resistant construction of the safe and possibly ignite the contents of the safe, especially if combustible materials are in direct contact with the bolt/nut/washer/etc.

Keith

In theory you are correct. Heat would conduct through the steel bolts. This is what makes a bolted wood truss roof so dangereous. The bolts conduct the heat to the interior of the wood causing the truss to fail quicker. However, a safe bolted to a concrete floor, would not suffer nearly as bad. The concrete may spaul but would remain intact and dissipate much of the heat during the course of the fire.
A safe bolted to a wood floor may still fair well, as I imagine the floor would give way under the weight of the safe before the bolts conducted enough heat to cause serious problems internally. After the fall......who knows?

 

[Dirtball]

Anyone have experience with a safe full of guns going thru a fire. If it is in the basement of one of your "country' homes , where response time from the water truck will be significant, and it is in the basement, - all the building materials> molten embers will be laying around the safe. I had a 36x24x30 office firesafe survive a big burn. The documents all looked like the Declaration of Indepedence. There were no guns in it. If most wooden country houses burn, with no one home , it's probably burning to the ground. Right on top of a basement gunsafe. I have been told through the years, not to fire weapons that saw high heat like that because the barrels may warp. Anyone know about that- ?? Regarding safes in general, you'd be surprised how fast some basic farm tools alot of us have in the barn will let one quickly gain entry to that polished, waxed, gold trimmed pinstriped 1ton Liberty type. Consider something like Megasafe if you have valuables to protect. High Security Safes: TRTL30X6, TL30X6 TL30, T27 Safes , these are what a jeweler uses. Still defeatable , but generally not by what is in your barn. These safes are smaller than that big honkin Sedan de Liberty, weigh 2 tons,painted boring matte colors - but available in rifle length. New $8k---- used $4k ...lots of businesses gone bust lately= lots of "office equipt" on the market. Put one side by side to your glossy Sedan de Ville. The meth- heads will be bangin on the pretty Caddy containing your cases of ammo while the valuables are sittin in the drab ugly smaller box next to it. I dont own much of anything worth protecting in a vault , but I work for folks who do. Most home gun safes are just like giving someone a treasure map with arrows showing "It's all here" . They are great for keeping your kids safe from firearm accidents.

 

[Skyco]

Regarding safes in general, you'd be surprised how fast some basic farm tools alot of us have in the barn will let one quickly gain entry to that polished, waxed, gold trimmed pinstriped 1ton Liberty type.

Thats is a concern of mine...if they get in the garage/shop they can get the cutting torch and all sorts of things to help get in the safe, defeat locks on trailers etc. Almost need a safe to keep the "burglar tools" in.

 

[Dargo]

Thats is a concern of mine...if they get in the garage/shop they can get the cutting torch and all sorts of things to help get in the safe, defeat locks on trailers etc. Almost need a safe to keep the "burglar tools" in.

I bought an old "Cannonball" safe at an auction many years ago really cheap because nobody else could move it. I haven't spent any time restoring it, but you're not going to pry into it with any pry bar and you'd likely burn the place down trying to use a torch and you'd certainly destroy anything in it by the time you get in it (if you ever did). Here's one like what I have but this one has been restored. Cannon Ball Safe - Goodman Wesson & Associates I think mine weighs between 6000 to 8000 pounds and came out of a local bank decades ago.

 

[Skyco]

Unfortunately as to burning the place down trying or destroying contents of a safe...there is no shortage of idiots, particularly of the criminal persuasion

 

[Dargo]

Unfortunately as to burning the place down trying or destroying contents of a safe...there is no shortage of idiots, particularly of the criminal persuasion

LOL, I have read where some would be criminals were killed when they had cannonball safes tip over on them during attempted burglaries.